Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against California and Washington in the Supreme Court, alleging the states’ granting of Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to illegal immigrants has endangered U.S. citizens.
“California’s and Washington’s open defiance of federal immigration laws is well documented. Both States routinely frustrate and hinder federal law enforcement from addressing the immigration crisis and the destruction that accompanies it,” the filing says. Resistance to federal law enforcement includes “failing to honor the federal safety regulations regarding the commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) needed to operate eighteen wheelers and other commercial motor vehicles.”
The lawsuit declares that California’s and Washington’s “decision to endanger their own citizens is reprehensible. But commercial drivers routinely cross state lines, endangering citizens of other States.”
The filing says that Florida “is the most recent victim” of these actions, explaining that an illegal immigrant licensed in both California and Washington attempted a “reckless U-turn,” leading to three fatalities.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently pulled millions of dollars from California over the state’s refusal to comply with English language standards for commercial drivers.
“I put states on notice this summer: enforce the Trump Administration’s English language requirements or the checks stop coming,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement on October 15. “California is the only state in the nation that refuses to ensure big rig drivers can read our road signs and communicate with law enforcement. This is a fundamental safety issue that impacts you and your family on America’s road.”
He added that the funding is “valuable money that should be going to the great men and women in California law enforcement, who we support. Gov. Newsom’s insistence on obstructing federal law has tied my hands.”
The issue stems from an April order from President Trump, which stated that his administration will enforce the “commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers.”
